It has been a rather hectic week, including some rather long days. I am used to working late, but having to start my day in the early hours is not part of my usual schedule.

MONDAY: Teach five classes, one after the other, necessitating lunch taking place mid-afternoon. In the evening, attend the 6th annual Centre for British Studies ‘Norton Lecture’, given by former MP Dr Tony Wright. He chaired the Public Administration Committee and the House of Commons Reform Committee. He gives an excellent lecture on ‘Is the Party Over?’ There is a reception and dinner, meaning I get home rather late.

TUESDAY: Up at 4.00 a.m. to catch the early train to London. Arrive in time for a meeting of the History of Parliament Trust. I have to leave early to attend a meeting at Clarence House. I get back to the Lords for an important reception for MPs and peers organised by the Campaign for an Effective Second Chamber. After Question Time, I get the train back to Hull. I arrive in time to give a lecture to the Hull Literary and Philosophical Society. There is a packed hall – about 250 people – to hear me lecture on ‘What is the point of the House of Lords?’ This is followed by a dinner, resulting in me getting home about 11.00 p.m.

WEDNESDAY: Up at 4.00 a.m. to catch the early train again. (When you do it once, it is much easier to do it a second time!) I get to Westminster to spend the morning discussing a proposed inquiry by the Higher Education Commission. I am now co-chair of the Commission. After a quick lunch, I attend a meeting of the executive of the Association of Conservative Peers (ACP), followed by a meeting of the ACP addressed by the Chancellor and the new Leader of the House of Lords. After seeing students, there is a meeting of the ACP executive with the Leader of the House. After spending some time in the chamber, I chair the weekly seminar with my students on placement at Westminster. I then catch the last train back to Hull.

THURSDAY: Day spent teaching. Three extended seminars, followed by a lecture. The evening provides the first spare moment to do a post on the blog.

The weekend will be spent working on three projects. More on those in due course.

Fear not, I have not forgotten you. A combination of marking and research has rather squeezed what time I have available to blog. And in any event blogs saying ‘I’m marking’ and ‘I’m getting on with research’ may not be the most exciting. See my latest post for proof!

You have indeed recovered the abbreviation. Your accurate research and candor about having misplaced and recovered the answer are more than revealing but are proof of a certain set of mental habits. It was a time when you and I really posted frequently and at length compared to the current time. Britain is portrayed by certain Americans as a society very much marked by titular abbreviations of the sequence of initial lettesr sort and our government is known as an alphabet soup by some here and abroad. but we also have social abbreviations and I could style myself with some Justification (a few being defunct now) as Frank Wynerth Summers III B.A., M.A.,KofC, Hnr. Lt. Gov., FCCL (no. omitted), HLP (no. Ommitted),, Φ Κ Φ, אא,, MdLG, Β Α (or βα)– I suppose I just did. While no inducement I can think of as likely would motivate me to define all these to those who do not know them nor expect them to be understood it is not an exhaustive list and I have used all of these and others at least on rare occasions. .In that vein it seems easy to write TNV sometimes and save a few strokes…